Outscoring the Golden Child

By the time I was fifteen, my family had me written off. The quiet twin. The average one. The smudge at the edge of the photo.They were about to find out how wrong they were. The whole town, actually.Rosalie was the genius they'd bet on, the pretty one, the rose everyone wanted to hold. I was the one they forgot to save a seat for.But that part comes later.The part that came first was the boy next door.Rosalie had been chasing Rhys Vaughn since we were kids. What she didn't know was that I'd loved him longer. Quieter. From the back seat. From the dark edge of every room he ever walked into.The night our scores posted, I went up to the roof to pull my laundry down and found the two of them already there.Her, up on her toes. Him, close enough to count her eyelashes.I turned around before I had to watch the rest.The summer air clung to me, wet and warm, and I let myself believe they were a thing. Believing it was easier than asking. If I never asked, I never had to hear the answer.Years later, outside a shop that was minutes from closing, a cigarette burning down to his knuckles, he backed me into the one question I'd spent my whole life dodging."Vesper. You like me, don't you?"I lied. Naturally.He smiled like he'd already read the answer off my face."Then do me a favor," he said. "Stop looking at me like that."Chapter 1The afternoon our SATs ended, Mom took off work to get us, and Rosalie called shotgun before the car had even stopped.So I took the back. I always took the back."How'd you do, baby?" Mom asked her."Fifteeneighty. Easy." You could hear the grin without turning around."That's my girl." Then, eyes on the light up ahead, like it had only just occurred to her: "And Ves, you'll get into a state school fine. Right?"I pinched a fold of my jeans between two fingers. "Mm."That was the whole conversation. It was always the whole conversation.Here's what they knew about me. Rosalie was the genius, the pretty one, top three in her class. To my own family I was still the girl from freshman year who cried over nothing and barely scraped through.They had no idea what the last two years had cost me. That was the point. I'd made sure of it."You're not a numbers kid," Mom said, sighing like it was a kindness. "Get through college, find something steady. A desk somewhere with good benefits. That's plenty.""Mom, where are we even eating?" Rosalie cut in."Our usual." Mom checked the light. "Mrs. Vaughn's meeting us, actually. You should ask her about your applications. Her son's at Wexford, you know."My breath stopped somewhere behind my ribs.Out the window the sunset had gone violent, like someone had cracked a yolk across the whole sky."So..." Rosalie's voice went careful. "Is Rhys gonna be there too?""He's home for the summer." Mom pulled into traffic. "Gotten so tall. So handsome."Rhys Vaughn was two years older than us, and once upon a time he ran our whole block.Back then Rosalie was already the firecracker. Sweetmouthed, good at being held. Every aunt and uncle scooped her up to play, and she gave them the full show, gummy little smile, eyes folded into crescents.I mostly just stood there. After they finished cooing over her they'd land on me, work at it for a second, and manage, "The little one's... wellbehaved."When the other kids set off snappers and traded marbles in the dirt, I could never find the door into it. So I sat in the sandbox with a cheap plastic bucket.One afternoon Rhys got tired of playing. He dropped down a few feet away, a lollipop in his cheek, and just watched me.Under his eyes I dug like I'd had three espressos, packing that bucket until the sand spilled over the sides."What are you doing?" he said, eyebrows pulling together.I set the bucket down in front of him. Hard. My lashes wouldn't stop trembling."For you," I said. "All of it."He went completely still.Chapter 2The lollipop dropped right out of his mouth.It took him a second. "Damn, kid," he said. "You don't mess around."Rhys was a disaster as a kid. Dead last in his class all through elementary, his mom chasing him around the block with a wooden spoon. Then middle school hit, something in his head switched on, and he never left the top of his class again. Put down Wexford, got in like it was nothing.Mom parked outside the restaurant and unclipped her belt. "Out we go."Rosalie didn't move. "Mom," she said finally, "do you have any more lipstick?"Mom raised an eyebrow. Then she caught the red creeping up Rosalie's ears and couldn't hold the smile back. "Baby. Do you have a little cr—""Shh, shh, shh." Rosalie stamped her foot. "Don't say it out loud."Mom dug out a soft pink and handed it over. Rosalie smeared it on, climbed out, and turned to me. "Ves, why'd you get out of the car so fast back there?""Because you stamped your foot that hard."Rosalie stared at me."I'm mad now," she announced. She hooked her arm through Mom's and walked in ahead of me.I trailed behind. I'm good at trailing behind.The truth is I envy her. I envy how easily she lets everyone see exactly what she feels. I've never once managed it.Inside, Rosalie laughed at everything, the potted plants included. A server walked us back to a private room, and the second my hand touched the door, my heart was slamming.Worse than any exam.Because an exam has an answer waiting from the moment they write the question. Rhys was the one problem I'd never solve. I could spend my whole life on him and never reach the last line.The door swung open on the sound of our mothers already midgreeting.Then I saw the profile. A stranger's, almost, and stupidly goodlooking. Black tee. Dark eyes that went darker when he turned toward the noise.I couldn't tell if he was looking at me. Rosalie was standing half a step in front, the way she always was.His eyes curved. The smile that came with it was lazy and a little bit mean.Mrs. Vaughn swatted his arm. "Say hello to Auntie Sutton and the girls."He said it. Then, to his mother, "Mom. I'm a grown man. Could you leave me some dignity?"She scoffed and let it go, already looping her arm warmly through my mom's. "Here, the menu. What are we ordering?"The parents settled in to talk. Rosalie dropped straight into the seat beside Rhys, eyes bright. "Rhys, do you remember me?"He propped his chin on one hand, lazy, that brimming smile sitting low in his eyes. "Course I do. You're little Rosie."Rosie was what the whole block called her when we were small. A pet name for the girl everyone adored.Rosalie lit up. "Oh, perfect!" She had her phone out in a blink. "Can I get your number?""Sure," he said.Like it cost nothing. Like she hadn't just reached out and taken the one thing I'd spent years refusing to let myself look at too long.Chapter 3He pulled out his phone. I was standing behind Rosalie, close enough to see the screen.A ranked match summary. Some mobile game I'd never played.The summer stretched out long and empty in front of me. I could learn it. I could get good at it.They finished trading numbers. Rosalie opened her mouth to say something else, and Rhys glanced up."Hey. Grab a seat."Rosalie turned around, not quite pleased. "Ves. Sit down already."I nodded.Eight chairs. Mrs. Vaughn didn't sit by her son. She sat by my mom. Mom on one side, then Rosalie, then Rhys.I let a beat pass. Then I took the seat on Rhys's other side.He blinked. "The AC hits hard over here. You'll freeze.""It's fine," I said, even.Rosalie shot me a look, then sweetened right back up. "Rhys, can you tell me about the majors at Wexford?"Cheeks pink, she pulled his attention away without lifting a finger.He tipped back in his chair, body angling toward her. I had his profile. Clean lines. A jaw cut sharp and lean.He said a few things. Then, out of nowhere, he turned his head to me. "Hey. Can you even hear me back there?"I didn't expect him to talk to me. Before I could answer, Rosalie cut clean across it."It's fine. Ves can't get into Wexford anyway."My face didn't move. I was used to it.I just lifted my eyes, and walked straight into his.Dark. Bright. His lashes were long enough to throw shadow on the thin skin of his lids.Half my body went numb. My heart was going so fast it hurt.Rhys reached across the table, picked up the bottle of peach soda in front of him, and set it down in front of me.Like comfort. Or like nothing at all."Gold doesn't stay buried," he said.I stared at the sweating bottle.He was the reason I couldn't stop. There was no getting out of it.Dinner ended fast, and after that day I didn't see Rhys again.The back half of June, I downloaded the game. My fingers moved like rusted hinges across the screen. People reported me for feeding more times than I can count.The front half of July, I picked up a tutoring job.Rosalie and Rhys must have been texting plenty, because for two months she floated around the house glowing, smiling at nothing.The day scores came out, I packed my bag like always, ready to head to my session.Rosalie was on the living room couch in a little dress, hair down in curls, doing her makeup.It took me a second to figure out why she was doing it in the living room, where everyone could see."Ves, come look. How's this lip color?"She blinked up at me, big eyes made bigger with colored contacts, mouth glossed cherryred."Pretty," I said, flat.She pouted, not satisfied. "But do you think Rhys will like it?""...He'll like it."I lied through my teeth.She beamed. "Good. We've got a date tonight. I hope he likes it."My hand went to my sleeve, smoothing it down. The question sat right there on my tongue. Are you two together?It circled and circled and never came out.How could I ever ask. As long as I didn't know the answer, I could keep the dream.So I kept my mouth shut and chose the dream.Chapter 4My students were two boys. Twins, elementaryschool age, and they did not stop talking."Miss Vesper, why don't you ever smile?""Miss Vesper, have you ever eaten poop?"That one got me. "No. Obviously not."They heard only what they wanted to hear."But what does poop taste like?""Is it like stinky cheese? Smells gross but tastes amazing?"My head was splitting. I wanted to tell them to take a bite and find out. I didn't. Kids that age, brains misfiring, might actually try it. And then I'd be a criminal for the ages.One whole afternoon of perpendicular and parallel lines, and I was finally off the clock.I said goodbye to their parents and went to wait for the bus at the gate, like always.My phone kept lighting up. Class group chat, family group chat, both going off.Fourthirty already. Scores were live.Dad was away for work, so he just tagged me and Rosalie in the family chat. Check your scores. Tell me the good news.Rosalie said she was out, she'd check at home on the computer.I didn't answer. Dad wasn't asking about my score anyway.I opened the results page. It hung there, loading.The bus pulled up. I tapped my card and took the very back, the way I always did.My hands wouldn't stop shaking. It took me two whole minutes to slot the card back into my wallet.Still loading.I knew exactly what I'd done. I was nervous anyway.The bus rolled smooth and quiet through a stretch of plane trees, and the light inside dropped to a dim green.My screen stayed bright. White, blank, white. Then it flipped over all at once into a wash of green.My eyes went straight to the total at the bottom.Fifteen hundred and something.I let out a long, heavy breath.Enough.When I got home, Rosalie and Mom were in the living room.A laptop sat on the coffee table. Rosalie was keying in her test ID, digit by digit. Mom had an arm around her shoulders. "Don't be nervous, baby."I changed my shoes in the entryway and put my bag back in my room without a word.Rosalie hollered for me. "Ves, get out here. Did you check yet?"I came out. "I checked.""Did you make the cutoff?"I had. By a mile. "Yeah."Mom raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. "That's great, baby." She stood and pulled me into a hug, warm.I didn't know what to do with it. I was a little happy anyway."Mom! I hit submit!" Rosalie shouted.And just like that, she had all of it back.I dropped my eyes and said nothing.The page lagged. It lagged for a long time before Rosalie's score loaded.Her hand shot out to cover the screen. She sucked in a breath. "Mom, I'm so nervous."So Mom soothed her. I watched from the side, quiet.She stayed nervous for ten minutes. Moved her hand one finger at a time.Then the color drained out of her face.And Mom, beside her, stopped believing her eyes too.【建议收费节点】Chapter 5I caught the number on the screen. Total: 1050.Then I went back to my phone and kept texting my teacher."This is impossible!" Rosalie's voice tore out of her. "This isn't my score!""Mom! Somebody swapped it. Somebody swapped my score!"She threw herself into Mom's arms and sobbed like the world was ending.My eardrums gave out. I turned to go back to my room.Rosalie lifted her red, streaming eyes to me. "You said you passed the cutoff? Seriously?""I did.""Weren't you always the one scraping the bottom?""You said it yourself." I tilted my head. "That was before." Then, even, like I really wanted to know: "I made the cutoff. Aren't you happy for me?"Rosalie froze.She didn't have an answer for that one. She never did, the rare time the math didn't fall her way.Mom patted her shoulder, but her face had gone disapproving too. "Baby, you can't talk to your sister like that."Then she turned to me. "Your sister had a rough test. Don't take it to heart, Ves.""It's fine."I walked back to my room, calm as still water.They still thought I'd barely scraped over the line. The whole state was about to learn my name. My own family would be the last to know.Once the door shut, I finally let the breath out. My throat shook around it